Jalen Hurts Rumors: Eagles Planning 'Taysom Hill Package on Steroids' for QB

When the Philadelphia Eagles selected Jalen Hurts in the second round of the 2020 NFL draft, most observers had the same reaction: What on earth are they thinking?

Apparently, the Eagles are looking into the future and seeing a two-quarterback vision.

Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports reported the Eagles plan to use two quarterbacks as a "staple" of their offense with Hurts and Carson Wentz.

"Taysom Hill [package] on steroids," a source told Robinson of the plans.

While this sounds exciting on paper, it's worth examining Hill's true effectiveness. Hill has only thrown 13 passes as an NFL player, completing six. He's essentially been used as a decoy and runner, being most effective when he lines up at receiver.

That's not the case with Hurts, who has been almost exclusively a quarterback during his college career. He's a good runner and solid athlete but ran a 4.59-second time in the 40—this isn't a generational speedster who was destined to become a gadget player.

"With Jalen Hurts, he has a unique skill set," coach Doug Pederson told reporters. "You see what Taysom Hill has done in New Orleans, and now he and Drew Brees have a connection there and a bond there, and you even look at when [Joe] Flacco and Lamar [Jackson] in Baltimore for the short period of time—how they gelled together. It's just something we're going to explore.

"I want to make a point here first and foremost that Jalen Hurts is a good quarterback, and he was drafted as a quarterback and he's a quarterback first, but he has a unique skill set that he's a great runner. Obviously, he throws well on the run. He has a unique set of skills that we're going to take a look at as we keep developing this offseason and this advancement as we get ready for training camp."

Keep in mind that Carson Wentz is 27 years old. He's coming off a season in which he had perhaps the worst receiving group in all of football, and the Eagles did little to improve their wideout depth chart before taking TCU's Jalen Reagor with the No. 21 overall pick. While Wentz was mostly healthy last season, he has a history riddled with injuries and could be placed in unnecessary harm on decoy plays where defenders get a free shot.

The innovation sounds fun on paper. Maybe it's the future of football. But there's a reason for caution here, and it wouldn't be surprising if Wentz is unhappy with the franchise at the moment given the need for help elsewhere